The Eight Wives of Ivan the Terrible: A Chronicle of Poison, Paranoia, and Power

Ivan IV Vasilyevich, commonly referred to as Ivan the Terrible, became the first Tsar of Russia in 1547 after assuming the title of Grand Prince of Moscow in 1533. Over his 50-year rule, he established Russia’s inaugural standing army, embraced the printing press, and expanded into Siberia, though his reign was also characterized by intense paranoia and violence. He had six recognized wives and two disputed marriages. The death of his first wife, Anastasia Romanovna, in 1560 from mercury poisoning drove him into madness. Following the death of their son, Feodor I, without an heir in 1598, the Rurik Dynasty came to an end, paving the way for Anastasia's great-nephew, Michael Romanov, to initiate the Romanov Dynasty. Other wives met tragic ends, facing witchcraft allegations and mysterious deaths.